- the analysts discovered striking similarities between the contents and the refrigerator owner’s socioeconomic status. By understanding how people’s tastes change as incomes rise, it is easier to identify consumer goods sectors that stand to benefit from lifestyles and spending habits that unlock earnings growth.
- JP Morgan’s emerging markets strategist Adrian Mowat is “confident that the emerging markets bull market will continue into the second half this year.” Mowat’s arguments start with the fact that tapering from the Federal Reserve has turned out to be a non-event for emerging markets. In addition, the bank expects emerging markets to grow above potential, a stark difference from the World Bank’s projections.
- A recent correction in Chinese internet names makes China’s internet infrastructure providers more attractive. They are set to benefit from rapidly increasing internet traffic in the country, forecast to grow at a 35.8 percent compounded annual rate from 2012 to 2016, outpacing major developed countries according to Cisco VNI. China’s data center service industry is more concentrated with higher barriers to enter and healthier pricing competition, a more resilient alternative to play the megatrend in mobile internet and enterprise cloud.
Threats
- A sad record was broken in 2013 when more than 50 million people were forced to flee their homes, the highest number since recordkeeping began. A recent article in The Economist highlights the most recent report by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, which also shows 2013 marked the sharpest year-on-year rise for decades. The main contribution to the recent rise is out of Syria. However, the tally is rising fast, with more than 300,000 people fleeing Mosul, Iraq after it was captured by extremists.
- Leaked recordings of conversations between Polish government officials and the central bank governor are threatening to disrupt the government and lead to a call for early elections. In the recordings, central bank Governor Marek Belka is heard discussing with Interior Minister Bartlomiej Sienkiewicz steps to boost the economy and help the ruling party win an election next year. An early election scenario would be negative for the markets due to the uncertainty over economic policy changes resulting from the transition.
- Renewed weakness in Chinese property developers validated investors’ caution on the most significant risk to the Chinese economy. Fragile and deteriorating sentiment toward Chinese residential property oversupply in lower-tier cities only adds to volatility of property-developer stocks in the near term.
Leaders and Laggards
The tables show the weekly, monthly and quarterly performance statistics of major equity and commodity market benchmarks of our family of funds.
| Index | Close | Weekly Change($) |
Weekly Change(%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| DJIA | 16,947.08 | +171.34 | +1.02% |
| S&P 500 | 1,962.87 | +26.71 | +1.38% |
| S&P Energy | 734.16 | +19.33 | +2.70% |
| S&P Basic Materials | 313.72 | +4.69 | +1.52% |
| Nasdaq | 4,368.04 | +57.38 | +1.33% |
| Russell 2000 | 1,188.42 | +25.74 | +2.21% |
| Hang Seng Composite Index | 3,169.75 | -28.72 | -0.90% |
| Korean KOSPI Index | 1,968.07 | -22.78 | -1.14% |
| S&P/TSX Canadian Gold Index | 193.85 | +10.28 | +5.60% |
| XAU | 98.46 | +6.16 | +6.67% |
| Gold Futures | 1,315.00 | +40.90 | +3.21% |
| Oil Futures | 107.26 | +0.35 | +0.33% |
| Natural Gas Futures | 4.56 | -0.18 | -3.88% |
| 10-Yr Treasury Bond | 2.61 | +0.00 | +0.08% |
| Index | Close | Monthly Change($) |
Monthly Change(%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| DJIA | 16,947.08 | +414.02 | +2.50% |
| S&P 500 | 1,962.87 | +74.84 | +3.96% |
| S&P Energy | 734.16 | +45.28 | +6.57% |
| S&P Basic Materials | 313.72 | +11.12 | +3.67% |
| Nasdaq | 4,368.04 | +236.50 | +5.72% |
| Russell 2000 | 1,188.42 | +84.79 | +7.68% |
| Hang Seng Composite Index | 3,169.75 | -332.01 | -14.83% |
| Korean KOSPI Index | 1,968.07 | -40.26 | -2.00% |
| S&P/TSX Canadian Gold Index | 193.85 | +15.37 | +8.61% |
| XAU | 98.46 | +9.76 | +11.00% |
| Gold Futures | 1,315.00 | +26.70 | +2.07% |
| Oil Futures | 107.26 | +3.19 | +3.07% |
| Natural Gas Futures | 4.56 | +0.08 | +1.83% |
| 10-Yr Treasury Bond | 2.61 | +0.07 | +2.88% |
| Index | Close | Quarterly Change($) |
Quarterly Change(%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| DJIA | 16,947.08 | +644.31 | +3.95% |
| S&P 500 | 1,962.87 | +96.35 | +5.16% |
| S&P Energy | 734.16 | +97.20 | +15.26% |
| S&P Basic Materials | 313.72 | +14.26 | +4.76% |
| Nasdaq | 4,368.04 | +91.25 | +2.13% |
| Russell 2000 | 1,188.42 | -5.31 | -0.45% |
| Hang Seng Composite Index | 3,169.75 | +170.47 | +5.68% |
| Korean KOSPI Index | 1,968.07 | +33.13 | +1.71% |
| S&P/TSX Canadian Gold Index | 193.85 | -4.10 | -2.07% |
| XAU | 98.46 | -0.05 | -0.05% |
| Gold Futures | 1,315.00 | -21.20 | -1.59% |
| Oil Futures | 107.26 | +7.80 | +7.84% |
| Natural Gas Futures | 4.56 | +0.24 | +5.61% |
| 10-Yr Treasury Bond | 2.61 | -0.14 | -4.99% |
Please consider carefully a fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. For this and other important information, obtain a fund prospectus by visiting www.usfunds.com or by calling 1-800-US-FUNDS (1-800-873-8637). Read it carefully before investing. Distributed by U.S. Global Brokerage, Inc.
All opinions expressed and data provided are subject to change without notice. Some of these opinions may not be appropriate to every investor.Foreign and emerging market investing involves special risks such as currency fluctuation and less public disclosure, as well as economic and political risk. By investing in a specific geographic region, a regional fund’s returns and share price may be more volatile than those of a less concentrated portfolio.The Emerging Europe Fund invests more than 25 percent of its investments in companies principally engaged in the oil & gas or banking industries. The risk of concentrating investments in this group of industries will make the fund more susceptible to risk in these industries than funds which do not concentrate their investments in an industry and may make the fund’s performance more volatile.Because the Global Resources Fund concentrates its investments in a specific industry, the fund may be subject to greater risks and fluctuations than a portfolio representing a broader range of industries.Gold, precious metals, and precious minerals funds may be susceptible to adverse economic, political or regulatory developments due to concentrating in a single theme. The prices of gold, precious metals, and precious minerals are subject to substantial price fluctuations over short periods of time and may be affected by unpredicted international monetary and political policies. We suggest investing no more than 5 percent to 10 percent of your portfolio in these sectors.Bond funds are subject to interest-rate risk; their value declines as interest rates rise. Tax-exempt income is federal income tax free. A portion of this income may be subject to state and local income taxes, and if applicable, may subject certain investors to the Alternative Minimum Tax as well. The Near-Term Tax Free Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in securities that pay taxable interest. Income or fund distributions attributable to capital gains are usually subject to both state and federal income taxes. The Near-Term Tax Free Fund may be exposed to risks related to a concentration of investments in a particular state or geographic area. These investments present risks resulting from changes in economic conditions of the region or issuer.Investing in real estate securities involves risks including the potential loss of principal resulting from changes in property value, interest rates, taxes and changes in regulatory requirements.Past performance does not guarantee future results.Some link(s) above may be directed to a third-party website(s). U.S. Global Investors does not endorse all information supplied by this/these website(s) and is not responsible for its/their content.These market comments were compiled using Bloomberg and Reuters financial news.Fund portfolios are actively managed, and holdings may change daily. Holdings are reported as of the most recent quarter-end. Holdings as a percentage of net assets as of 3/31/2014:
Covidien plc: 0.0%
Medtronic, Inc.: 0.0%
Express Scripts Holding Co.: 0.0%
Coach, Inc.: 0.0%
ConAgra Foods, Inc.: 0.0%
Yahoo!, Inc.: 0.0%
Whole Foods Market, Inc.: 0.0%
Nike, Inc.: 0.0%
Walgreen Co.: 0.0%
CarMax, Inc.: 0.0%
Lennar Corp.: 0.0%
Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc.: 0.0%
China National Gold: 0.0%
Randgold Resources Ltd: Gold and Precious Metals Fund, 2.08%; World Precious Minerals Fund, 1.26%
IAMGOLD Corp.: : Gold and Precious Metals Fund, 1.02%; World Precious Minerals Fund, 0.07%
Trans Tasman Resources: 0.0%
First Quantum Minerals Ltd: 0.0%
Lumina Copper Corp.: World Precious Minerals Fund, 0.01%
Anadarko Petroleum Corp.: Global Resources Fund, 0.36%
Cimarex Energy Co.: Global Resources Fund, 1.14%
Whiting Petroleum Corp.: Global Resources Fund, 0.19%
Franco-Nevada Corp.: All American Equity Fund, 0.69%; Global Resources Fund, 1.00%; Gold and Precious Metals Fund, 1.62%; Holmes Macro Trends Fund, 0.68%; World Precious Minerals Fund, 0.72%
Royal Gold, Inc.: Global Resources Fund, 0.14%; Gold and Precious Metals Fund, 3.00%; World Precious Minerals Fund, 0.81%
NextEra Energy, Inc.: Global Resources Fund, 1.18%
NRG Energy, Inc.: 0.0%
Knightsbridge Tankers Ltd: Global Resources Fund, 0.65%
Sherritt International Corp.: Global Resources Fund, 1.24%
Southern Copper: 0.0%
MMG Ltd: 0.0%
Newmont Mining Corp.: Gold and Precious Metals Fund, 0.12%; World Precious Minerals Fund, 0.11%
BHP Billiton: 0.0%
Rio Tinto PLC: Global Resources Fund, 0.29%
Shire plc: 0.0%
AbbVie, Inc.: Holmes Macro Trends Fund, 1.05%*The above-mentioned indices are not total returns. These returns reflect simple appreciation only and do not reflect dividend reinvestment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted average of 30 blue chip stocks that are generally leaders in their industry.
The
